Halliburton affiliate tabbed to build immigration jails

DailyBulletin.com - News: "By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer


Beyond Borders - Special Report on Immigration

Beyond Borders Blog - Special Report on Immigration

A Houston-based construction firm with ties to the White House has been awarded an open-ended contract to build immigration detention centers that could total $385 million a move that some critics called questionable.

The contract calls for KBR, a subsidiary of oil engineering and construction giant Halliburton, to build temporary detention facilities in the event of an 'immigration emergency,' according to U.S. officials.

'If, for example, there were some sort of upheaval in another country that would cause mass migration, that's the type of situation that this contract would address,' said Jamie Zuieback of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'Essentially, this is a contingency contract.'"

'Primary care is on the verge of collapse,' US News Article | Reuters.com

US News Article | Reuters.com: "By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Primary care, the basic medical care that people get when they visit their doctors for routine physicals and minor problems, could fall apart in the United States without immediate reforms, the American College of Physicians said on Monday.

'Primary care is on the verge of collapse,' said the organization, a professional group that certifies internists, in a statement. 'Very few young physicians are going into primary care and those already in practice are under such stress that they are looking for an exit strategy.'

Dropping incomes coupled with difficulties in juggling patients, soaring bills and policies from insurers that encourage rushed office visits all mean that more primary care doctors are retiring than are graduating from medical school, the ACP said in its report.

The group has proposed a solution, calling on federal policymakers to approve new ways of paying doctors that would put primary care doctors in charge of organizing a patient's care and giving patients more responsibility for monitoring their own health and scheduling regular visits.

U.S. doctors have long complained that reimbursement policies of both Medicare and private insurers reward a 'just-in-time' approach, instead of preventive care that would save money and keep patients healthier."

Palace Revolt - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com

Palace Revolt - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com:

"Goldsmith was actually the opposite of what his detractors imagined. For nine months, from October 2003 to June 2004, he had been the central figure in a secret but intense rebellion of a small coterie of Bush administration lawyers. Their insurrection, described to NEWSWEEK by current and former administration officials who did not wish to be identified discussing confidential deliberations, is one of the most significant and intriguing untold stories of the war on terror.

These Justice Department lawyers, backed by their intrepid boss Comey, had stood up to the hard-liners, centered in the office of the vice president, who wanted to give the president virtually unlimited powers in the war on terror. Demanding that the White House stop using what they saw as farfetched rationales for riding rough-shod over the law and the Constitution, Goldsmith and the others fought to bring government spying and interrogation methods within the law. They did so at their peril; ostracized, some were denied promotions, while others left for more comfortable climes in private law firms and academia. Some went so far as to line up private lawyers in 2004, anticipating that the president's eavesdropping program would draw scrutiny from Congress, if not prosecutors. These government attorneys did not always succeed, but their efforts went a long way toward vindicating the principle of a nation of laws and not men."

Howard letter draws PM into wheat scandal - National - smh.com.au

Howard letter draws PM into wheat scandal - National - smh.com.au: "anuary 30, 2006

John Howard wrote to the head of Australia's wheat exporter asking him to work closely with government officials on Iraq shortly before the executive went to Baghdad to negotiate an illicit payment to Saddam Hussein's regime, new evidence from the Cole inquiry shows.

The letter from the Prime Minister to AWB's Andrew Lindberg was released by the inquiry into the UN oil-for-food scandal yesterday, which is investigating $300 million in AWB kickbacks to the Iraqi regime. It also released scores of documents showing government officials were far more deeply involved in the exporter's deals with the regime than previously recognised.

Letters from Mr Howard and the Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, to AWB executives, as well as confidential AWB documents, will draw the Government into the widening scandal at the most senior levels."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | How the US fell out of love with its cars

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | How the US fell out of love with its cars:

"Tail fins and chrome grilles were once the symbols of a superpower. Now, with 36,000 jobs cut in a week and foreign vehicles filling the highways, Paul Harris in New York surveys the collapse of an industry "

Army forces 50,000 soldiers into extended duty - Yahoo! News

Army forces 50,000 soldiers into extended duty - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

The U.S. Army has forced about 50,000 soldiers to continue serving after their voluntary stints ended under a policy called 'stop-loss,' but while some dispute its fairness, court challenges have fallen flat."

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saddam walks out in trial uproar

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saddam walks out in trial uproar: "Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein walked out of court amid uproar within minutes of the resumption of his murder trial under a new presiding judge.

He left in protest after his defence team walked out, and was followed by two more of his co-defendants.

The walkouts came after the new chief judge, Raouf Abdul Rahman, had Saddam's half brother and co-defendant Barzan al-Tikriti removed from the courtroom."

The Pimping of the President - The Texas Observer

The Pimping of the President - The Texas Observer: "Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist Billing Clients for Face Time with G.W. Bush
BY LOU DUBOSE

Four months after he took the oath of office in 2001, President George W. Bush was the attraction, and the White House the venue, for a fundraiser organized by the alleged perpetrator of the largest billing fraud in the history of corporate lobbying. In May 2001, Jack Abramoff’s lobbying client book was worth $4.1 million in annual billing for the Greenberg Traurig law firm. He was a friend of Bush advisor Karl Rove. He was a Bush “Pioneer,” delivering at least $100,000 in bundled contributions to the 2000 campaign. He had just concluded his work on the Bush Transition Team as an advisor to the Department of the Interior. He had sent his personal assistant Susan Ralston to the White House to work as Rove’s personal assistant. He was a close friend, advisor, and high-dollar fundraiser for the most powerful man in Congress, Tom DeLay. Abramoff was so closely tied to the Bush Administration that he could, and did, charge two of his clients $25,000 for a White House lunch date and a meeting with the President. From the same two clients he took to the White House in May 2001, Abramoff also obtained $2.5 million in contributions for a non-profit foundation he and his wife operated.

Abramoff’s White House guests were the chiefs of two of the six casino-rich Indian tribes he and his partner Mike Scanlon ultimately billed $82 million for services tribal leaders now claim were never performed or were improperly performed.

"

Al Qaeda Detainee's Mysterious Release

Al Qaeda Detainee's Mysterious Release: "Al Qaeda Detainee's Mysterious Release
Moroccan Spoke Of Aiding Bin Laden During 2001 Escape

RABAT, Morocco -- For more than a decade, Osama bin Laden had few soldiers more devoted than Abdallah Tabarak. A former Moroccan transit worker, Tabarak served as a bodyguard for the al Qaeda leader, worked on his farm in Sudan and helped run a gemstone smuggling racket in Afghanistan, court records here show.

During the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, when al Qaeda leaders were pinned down by U.S. forces, Tabarak sacrificed himself to engineer their escape. He headed toward the Pakistani border while making calls on Osama bin Laden's satellite phone as bin Laden and the others fled in the other direction.

Tabarak was captured and taken to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was classified as such a high-value prisoner that the Pentagon repeatedly denied requests by the International Committee of the Red Cross to see him. Then, after spending almost three years at the base, he was suddenly released.

Today, the al Qaeda loyalist known locally as the "emir" of Guantanamo walks the streets of his old neighborhood near Casablanca, more or less a free man. In a decision that neither the Pentagon nor Moroccan officials will explain publicly, Tabarak was transferred to Morocco in August 2004 and released from police custody four months later."

Bush picks Abramoff prosecutor for federal judgeship / Democrats wonder about the timing of president's move

Bush picks Abramoff prosecutor for federal judgeship / Democrats wonder about the timing of president's move: "Friday, January 27, 2006

Washington -- The investigation into Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a provocative new turn Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.

The prosecutor, Noel Hillman, is chief of the department's Office of Public Integrity, and the move ends his involvement in an investigation that has reached into the administration as well as into the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

Democrats swiftly questioned the move's timing and called for a special prosecutor as Bush faced a barrage of questions about why he would not make public 'grip and grin' photographs of himself with Abramoff. The photographs apparently show Bush and Abramoff smiling at White House Hanukkah parties and Republican fundraising receptions."

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him - New York Times

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him - New York Times: "January 29, 2006

The top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming."

Documents Show Army Seized Wives as Tactic

Documents Show Army Seized Wives as Tactic: "January 28, 2006; 2:50 AM

-- The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of 'leveraging' their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show.

In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a U.S. intelligence officer reported. In the case of a second detainee, one American colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him 'to come get his wife.'

The issue of female detentions in Iraq has taken on a higher profile since kidnappers seized American journalist Jill Carroll on Jan. 7 and threatened to kill her unless all Iraqi women detainees are freed.

...

"During the pre-operation brief it was recommended by TF personnel that if the wife were present, she be detained and held in order to leverage the primary target's surrender," wrote the 14-year veteran officer.

He said he objected, but when they raided the house the team leader, a senior sergeant, seized her anyway.

"The 28-year-old woman had three young children at the house, one being as young as six months and still nursing," the intelligence officer wrote. She was held for two days and was released after he complained, he said.....

"

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Halliburton swings to $1.1 billion profit, cites 2005 as company's best

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Halliburton swings to $1.1 billion profit, cites 2005 as company's best: "January 26, 2006

DALLAS – Oilfield services conglomerate Halliburton Co. swung to a profit in its fourth quarter on robust sales and increased rig activity, and called last year the best in its 86-year history."

A Decade After Clinton's Plan, Bush Revisits Health Care Issue - New York Times

A Decade After Clinton's Plan, Bush Revisits Health Care Issue - New York Times:

"But some policy experts, Republicans and Democrats alike, say the Bush proposals, which are built around tax breaks, may further drive up health spending and costs by fueling the demand for health care. Such unintended effects show how difficult it is to apply economic theory to the complexities of the current health care system."

Saddam's chaotic trial set to resume Sunday - Yahoo! News

Saddam's chaotic trial set to resume Sunday - Yahoo! News: "The trial is due to resume after a five-day postponement that prompted Saddam's defense team to call for the proceedings to be abandoned. The court has been in turmoil since its chief judge resigned complaining of government interference.

Saddam and seven co-accused are on trial for crimes against humanity, charged with killing 148 men from the Shi'ite town of Dujail after a failed bid to assassinate him there in 1982.

Court officials blamed the postponement on the failure of some witnesses to turn up, saying they were still on the Muslim haj pilgrimage, although that had ended 10 days previously."

Most Americans want Bush reveal lobbyist ties: poll - Yahoo! News

Most Americans want Bush reveal lobbyist ties: poll - Yahoo! News: "Sat Jan 28, 5:36 AM ET

POINT OF FACT NOTE - ABRAMOFF WAS ON THE BUSH TRANSITION TEAM.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three in four Americans want
President George W. Bush to disclose his aides' links with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, a demand the White House has rejected so far, according to a poll published on Saturday.

...

Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges this month and agreed to help U.S. prosecutors in a corruption probe that has sparked calls for reform of the Washington practice of lobbying lawmakers with donations and favors to influence legislation.

At a White House news conference on Thursday, Bush said he did not know Abramoff and would not release photographs in which the two appeared together.

He said the release of the photographs would be used for 'pure political purposes' by Democrats.

The Washington Post said 76 percent of those surveyed said Bush should release lists of all meetings between his aides and Abramoff. Eighteen percent disagreed.

'Two in three Republicans joined with eight in 10 Democrats and political independents in favoring disclosure,' the paper said."

Hamas win shatters status quo | csmonitor.com

Hamas win shatters status quo | csmonitor.com: "By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
JERUSALEM – The Islamic group Hamas staged a stunning upset of the ruling Fatah faction in Palestinian parliamentary polls Wednesday, winning a solid outright majority of the total 132 seats and making the strongest ever showing of an Islamist movement in the Arab world.

With such a decisive win, Hamas is unlikely to need a coalition partner, sidelining the Palestine Liberation Organization's Fatah Party and promising to redefine the troubled Middle East peace process.

Hamas, which rejected the 1993 Oslo Accords that founded the Palestinian Authority (PA), was ebullient over its mandate, but said it would not change its fundamental stance: It will not disarm its military wing and will not revise its charter calling for Israel's destruction."

DeLay appearance cost Fox $14,000

DeLay appearance cost Fox $14,000: "DeLay appearance cost Fox $14,000
Chartered jet ferried just-indicted politician to Washington studio last fall.

By Chuck Lindell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, January 27, 2006

Four days after U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay's stunning indictment last September in Travis County, the political talk show 'Fox News Sunday' trumpeted an exclusive interview with the combative Texas Republican.

Unsaid, but revealed in documents DeLay later filed in the U.S. House, was that DeLay's Oct. 2 appearance cost Fox News $14,000."

USATODAY.com - State of the Union? Not so good, most say

USATODAY.com - State of the Union? Not so good, most say: "Those surveyed:

• Said the country has gotten off track. By 62%-35%, they were dissatisfied with the way things are going in the USA. That's the most pessimistic view at the start of a year since Bush took office.

• Rated the economy as faltering. Six in 10 said the current economy was only fair or poor, and 54% said economic conditions were getting worse. Views differed by party: 68% of Republicans but just 16% of Democrats called the economy excellent or good.

• Questioned Bush's leadership. By 64%-34%, they said Bush didn't have a clear plan for solving the country's problems. The president received his strongest approval rating, 52%, on fighting terrorism. But on health care — ranked as an issue equal to the economy — congressional Democrats were more trusted, 54%-35%."

USATODAY- CBO Report: Budget deficit will turn to surplus if Bush's tax cuts expire

USATODAY.com: "Report: Budget deficit will turn to surplus if Bush's tax cuts expire

By Richard Wolf
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Making President Bush's tax cuts permanent will prolong big budget deficits into the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office projected Thursday.

But if those tax cuts are allowed to expire after 2010 — effectively a tax increase Bush has sworn to oppose — the budget would begin showing a surplus in 2012, the CBO's budget projections showed. Bush wants Congress to make the tax cuts permanent before he leaves office in 2009."

WXIA 11Alive.com - ACLU Releases Government Photos

WXIA 11Alive.com - ACLU Releases Government Photos: "1/25/2006 9:41:15 PM

The ACLU of Georgia released copies of government files on Wednesday that illustrate the extent to which the FBI, the DeKalb County Division of Homeland Security and other government agencies have gone to compile information on Georgians suspected of being threats simply for expressing controversial opinions.

Two documents relating to anti-war and anti-government protests, and a vegan rally, prove the agencies have been 'spying' on Georgia residents unconstitutionally, the ACLU said. (Related: ACLU Complaint -- PDF file)

For example, more than two dozen government surveillance photographs show 22-year-old Caitlin Childs of Atlanta, a strict vegetarian, and other vegans picketing against meat eating, in December 2003. They staged their protest outside a HoneyBaked Ham store on Buford Highway in DeKalb County.

An undercover DeKalb County Homeland Security detective was assigned to conduct surveillance of the protest and the protestors, and take the photographs. The detective arrested Childs and another protester after he saw Childs approach him and write down, on a piece of paper, the license plate number of his unmarked government car.

'They told me if I didn't give over the piece of paper I would go to jail and I refused and I went to jail, and the piece of paper was taken away from me at the jail and the officer who transferred me said that was why I was arrested,' Childs said on Wednesday."

Chinese Economy Grows to 4th Largest in the World - New York Times

Chinese Economy Grows to 4th Largest in the World - New York Times: "January 25, 2006

HONG KONG, Jan. 25 The Chinese economy grew 9.9 percent last year, the third year in a row of roughly 10 percent growth, government statisticians announced in Beijing on Wednesday.

The Chinese statistics, showing a national economic output of $2.26 trillion, sent China soaring past France, Britain and Italy to become the world's fourth-largest economy, after the United States, Japan and Germany."

Audit Describes Misuse of Funds in Iraq Projects - New York Times

Audit Describes Misuse of Funds in Iraq Projects - New York Times: "January 25, 2006

A new audit of American financial practices in Iraq has uncovered irregularities including millions of reconstruction dollars stuffed casually into footlockers and filing cabinets, an American soldier in the Philippines who gambled away cash belonging to Iraq, and three Iraqis who plunged to their deaths in a rebuilt hospital elevator that had been improperly certified as safe.

The audit, released yesterday by the office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, expands on its previous findings of fraud, incompetence and confusion as the American occupation poured money into training and rebuilding programs in 2003 and 2004. The audit uncovers problems in an area that includes half the land mass in Iraq, with new findings in the southern and central provinces of Anbar, Karbala, Najaf, Wasit, Babil, and Qadisiya. The special inspector reports to the secretary of defense and the secretary of state.

Agents from the inspector general's office found that the living and working quarters of American occupation officials were awash in shrink-wrapped stacks of $100 bills, colloquially known as bricks.

One official kept $2 million in a bathroom safe, another more than half a million dollars in an unlocked footlocker. One contractor received more than $100,000 to completely refurbish an Olympic pool but only polished the pumps; even so, local American officials certified the work as completed. More than 2,000 contracts ranging in value from a few thousand dollars to more than half a million, some $88 million in all, were examined by agents from from the inspector general's office. The report says that in some cases the agents found clear indications of potential fraud and that investigations into those cases are continuing."

White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers - New York Times

White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers - New York Times: "January 25, 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - The Bush administration, citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, said Tuesday that it did not plan to turn over certain documents about Hurricane Katrina or make senior White House officials available for sworn testimony before two Congressional committees investigating the storm response.

The White House this week also formally notified Representative Richard H. Baker, Republican of Louisiana, that it would not support his legislation creating a federally financed reconstruction program for the state that would bail out homeowners and mortgage lenders. Many Louisiana officials consider the bill crucial to recovery, but administration officials said the state would have to use community development money appropriated by Congress.

The White House's stance on storm-related documents, along with slow or incomplete responses by other agencies, threatens to undermine efforts to identify what went wrong, Democrats on the committees said Tuesday.

'There has been a near total lack of cooperation that has made it impossible, in my opinion, for us to do the thorough investigation that we have a responsibility to do,' Senator Joseph I. Lieberman,"

Mexican military incursions into the United States - http://www.abqjournal.com

http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=442&Itemid=2: "Tuesday, 24 January 2006
Suspects in uniform confront Texas lawmen again.

Less than a week after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned against 'alarmist' reports of Mexican military incursions into the United States, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that Texas state troopers ran into men dressed in Mexican uniforms or camouflage on the U.S. side of the border, The Associated Press is reporting.

Chertoff was responding to reports early last week of more than 200 reported incursions by uniformed men from Mexico since 1996 -- drawn from a study by his own department.

While Chertoff last week termed most such crossings 'innocent things,' the incident that occurred on Monday in Hudspeth County, Texas, along the Rio Grande about 50 miles east of El Paso, seemed anything but innocent.

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario, Calif. -- the paper that broke the incursion story a week ago Sunday -- was at it again today, reporting that there was a standoff involving with the Mexican military, suspected drug smugglers and nearly 30 U.S. law enforcement officers -- along with Mexican military Humvees hauling what appeared to be thousands of pounds of marijuana across the border into the United States."

BREITBART.COM - Google Agrees to Censor Results in China

BREITBART.COM - Google Agrees to Censor Results in China: "SAN FRANCISCO

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market."

Senators: White House Stalls Katrina Probe - Yahoo! News

Senators: White House Stalls Katrina Probe - Yahoo! News: "By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 36 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The White House is crippling a Senate inquiry into the government's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina by barring administration officials from answering questions and failing to hand over documents, senators leading the investigation said Tuesday.

In some cases, staff at the White House and other federal agencies have refused to be interviewed by congressional investigators, said the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In addition, agency officials won't answer seemingly innocuous questions about times and dates of meetings and telephone calls with the White House, the senators said."

Update 1: Brits Crack Down on Basra's Police - Forbes.com

Update 1: Brits Crack Down on Basra's Police - Forbes.com: "Associated Press
Update 1: Brits Crack Down on Basra's Police
By ROBERT H. REID , 01.24.2006, 06:17 PM

British troops launched a crackdown Tuesday on Basra's troubled police, arresting several officers in a force long believed infiltrated by extremist Shiite militiamen. Curbing militia power is considered crucial to building trust among Iraq's rival communities, but finding a way to do it has proven elusive.

Fourteen people were detained in the early morning raids, British officials said. Nine were released but five others - all policemen - were jailed for alleged roles in murder and other crimes 'connected to rival tribal and militia groups,' British spokesman Maj. Peter Cripps said."

Iraq Rebuilding Badly Hobbled, U.S. Report Finds - New York Times

Iraq Rebuilding Badly Hobbled, U.S. Report Finds - New York Times: "January 24, 2006

The first official history of the $25 billion American reconstruction effort in Iraq depicts a program hobbled from the outset by gross understaffing, a lack of technical expertise, bureaucratic infighting, secrecy and constantly increasing security costs, according to a preliminary draft."

Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk

Science News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "By Deborah Zabarenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, and it was unusually hot in the Arctic, U.S. space agency NASA said on Tuesday.

All five of the hottest years since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s occurred within the last decade, according to analysis by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

In descending order, the years with the highest global average annual temperatures were 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004, NASA said in a statement.

'It's fair to say that it probably is the warmest since we have modern meteorological records,' said Drew Shindell of the NASA institute in New York City.

'Using indirect measurements that go back farther, I think it's even fair to say that it's the warmest in the last several thousand years.'"

Photos of Bush With Abramoff Are Withheld

Photos of Bush With Abramoff Are Withheld: "January 24, 2006; Page A04

Several White House officials have been briefed about pictures of President Bush and Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff taken since 2001 but will not release them on grounds that they are not relevant to the ongoing money-for-favors investigation, aides said yesterday.

'Trying to say there's more to it than the president taking a picture in a photo line is just absurd,' White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters. Bush, he said, does not recall meeting Abramoff and did not do any favors for the disgraced lobbyist.


Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett speaks live from the White House, Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, to one of the morning television news shows. Bartlett responded to questions about photographs of President George W. Bush with Jack Abramoff, who is at the center of a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
Counselor to the President Dan Bartlett speaks live from the White House, Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, to one of the morning television news shows. Bartlett responded to questions about photographs of President George W. Bush with Jack Abramoff, who is at the center of a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds) (Ron Edmonds - AP)
Special Report
The Jack Abramoff Story

Abramoff, the once-powerful lobbyist at the center of a wide-ranging public corruption investigation, pleaded guilty Jan. 3 to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials in a deal that requires him to provide evidence about members of Congress.

• Abramoff Pleads Guilty (Jan. 4, 2006)
• Fast Rise, Steep Fall (Dec. 29, 2005)
• Stacking the Deck (Oct. 16, 2005)

ABC News: EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Ethics Problem?

ABC News: EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Ethics Problem?: "What Was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Doing on Day of Supreme Court Swearing-In?"

Jan. 23, 2006 — At the historic swearing-in of John Roberts as the 17th chief justice of the United States last September, every member of the Supreme Court, except Antonin Scalia, was in attendance. ABC News has learned that Scalia had instead spent his afternoon on the tennis court at one of the country's top resorts, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bachelor Gulch, Colo., during a trip to a legal seminar sponsored by the Federalist Society.

Not only did Scalia's absence appear to be a snub of the new chief justice, but according to some legal ethics experts, it also raised questions about the propriety of what critics call judicial junkets.

"It's unfortunate of course that what kept him from the swearing in was an activity that is itself of dubious ethical propriety," said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor, who is a recognized scholar on legal ethics.
...

Justice Scalia spent three days at the luxury resort lecturing at the legal seminar where ABC News also found him on the tennis court, heading out for a fly-fishing expedition, and socializing with members of the Federalist Society, the conservative activist group that paid for the expenses of his trip...

According to the event's invitation, obtained by ABC News, the Federalist Society promised members who attended the seminar an exclusive and "rare opportunity to spend time, both socially and intellectually" with Scalia.

One night at the resort, Justice Scalia attended a cocktail reception, sponsored in part by the same lobbying and law firm where convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff once worked....

American Research Group

American Research Group:

Bush approval at record low 36%

"George W. Bush's overall job approval rating returns to its record low as Americans once again become less optimistic about the national economy. Details from the nationwide survey conducted January 19-22 are available at The National Economy."

American contractors leaving Iraq - World News - Webindia123.com

American contractors leaving Iraq - World News - Webindia123.com: "January 23, 2006 8:36:09 PM IST

American private contractors are preparing to leave Iraq as US money runs out and government ministries take charge of the reconstruction effort, according to the Washington Times."

As Profits Soar, Companies Pay U.S. Less for Gas Rights - New York Times

As Profits Soar, Companies Pay U.S. Less for Gas Rights - New York Times: "January 23, 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 - At a time when energy prices and industry profits are soaring, the federal government collected little more money last year than it did five years ago from the companies that extracted more than $60 billion in oil and gas from publicly owned lands and coastal waters.

If royalty payments in fiscal 2005 for natural gas had risen in step with market prices, the government would have received about $700 million more than it actually did, a three-month investigation by The New York Times has found.
...

As a result, the nation's taxpayers, collectively, the biggest owner of American oil and gas reserves, have missed much of the recent energy bonanza.

The disparities in gas prices parallel those uncovered just five years ago in a wave of scandals involving royalty payments for oil. From 1998 to 2001, a dozen major companies, while admitting no wrongdoing, paid a total of $438 million to settle charges that they had fraudulently understated their sale prices for oil.

Since then, the government has tightened its rules for oil payments. But with natural gas, the Bush administration recently loosened the rules and eased its audits intended to uncover cheating.
....

But one major producer, Burlington Resources, admitted to shareholders last year that it might have underpaid about $76 million in gas royalties in the 1990's. And in Alabama, a jury ruled in 2003 that Exxon had cheated on $63.6 million worth of royalties from gas wells in state-owned waters. The jury awarded $11.9 billion in punitive damages, which a judge later reduced to $3.5 billion. Exxon disputes the charges and is appealing the verdict.

The possible losses to taxpayers in gas could be even higher than the losses tied to the scandals over oil royalties. For one thing, natural gas production on federal land is worth twice as much as oil.

Moreover, the Interior Department has scaled back on full audits, pushed out a couple of its more aggressive auditors and been criticized by its own inspector general for the audits that it did pursue.

"

Ford to Cut Up to 30,000 Jobs and 14 Plants in Next 6 Years - New York Times

Ford to Cut Up to 30,000 Jobs and 14 Plants in Next 6 Years - New York Times: "January 23, 2006

The Ford Motor Company said today that it would eliminate 25,000 to 30,000 jobs and close up to 14 manufacturing plants in the next six years in an extensive restructuring that executives said would make the company's North American division profitable by 2008."

Iraqi Cleric: Militia Would Defend Iran - New York Times

Iraqi Cleric: Militia Would Defend Iran - New York Times: "January 22, 2006

Filed at 8:47 p.m. ET

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- The Iraqi cleric who once led two uprisings against U.S. forces said Sunday that his militia would help to defend Iran if it is attacked, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Muqtada al-Sadr, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with the top Iranian nuclear negotiator, said his Mahdi Army was formed to defend Islam.

''If neighboring Islamic countries, including Iran, become the target of attacks, we will support them,'' al-Sadr was quoted as saying. ''The Mahdi Army is beyond the Iraqi army. It was established to defend Islam.''

The comments could be seen as a message that Tehran has allies who could make things difficult for U.S. forces in the region if Iran's nuclear facilities are attacked.

Al-Sadr has a large following among Iraq's young and impoverished Shiites. His militia launched two uprisings against U.S. troops in Iraq in 2004, but since the fighting ended he has transformed himself into a respected political figure. Al-Sadr's followers now hold 21 seats in the outgoing parliament as well as three Cabinet posts."

TIME.com: When George Met Jack -- Jan. 30, 2006 -- Page 1

TIME.com: When George Met Jack -- Jan. 30, 2006 -- Page 1: "White House aides deny the President knew lobbyist Abramoff, but unpublished photos shown to TIME suggest there's more to the story
By ADAM ZAGORIN AND MIKE ALLEN
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Sunday, Jan. 22, 2006

As details poured out about the illegal and unseemly activities of Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, White House officials sought to portray the scandal as a Capitol Hill affair with little relevance to them. Peppered for days with questions about Abramoff's visits to the White House, press secretary Scott McClellan said the now disgraced lobbyist had attended two huge holiday receptions and a few 'staff-level meetings' that were not worth describing further. 'The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him,' McClellan said.

The President's memory may soon be unhappily refreshed. TIME has seen five photographs of Abramoff and the President that suggest a level of contact between them that Bush's aides have downplayed. While TIME's source refused to provide the pictures for publication, they are likely to see the light of day eventually because celebrity tabloids are on the prowl for them. And that has been a fear of the Bush team's for the past several months: that a picture of the President with the admitted felon could become the iconic image of direct presidential involvement in a burgeoning corruption scandal—like the shots of President Bill Clinton at White House coffees for campaign contributors in the mid-1990s.

In one shot that TIME saw, Bush appears with Abramoff, several unidentified people and Raul Garza Sr., a Texan Abramoff represented who was then chairman of the Kickapoo Indians, which owned a casino in southern Texas. Garza, who is wearing jeans and a bolo tie in the picture, told TIME that Bush greeted him as 'Jefe,' or 'chief' in Spanish. Another photo shows Bush shaking hands with Abramoff in front of a window and a blue drape. The shot bears Bush's signature, perhaps made by a machine. Three other photos are of Bush, Abramoff and, in each view, one of the lobbyist's sons (three of his five children are boys). A sixth picture shows several Abramoff children with Bush and House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who is now pushing to tighten lobbying laws after declining to do so last year when the scandal was in its early stages."

Xinhua - English

Xinhua - English:

"Jan. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. troops opened fire at civilian cars Saturday night in Baiji town, some 200 km north of Baghdad, killing three people, who turned out to be U.S.-trained Iraqi army soldiers, a source from the Iraqi-US liaison office in Tikrit told Xinhua on Sunday."

Aljazeera.Net - Saudi king in China for oil talks

Aljazeera.Net - Saudi king in China for oil talks: "Saudi king in China for oil talks

Sunday 22 January 2006, 15:21 Makka Time, 12:21 GMT

King Abdullah has begun the first ever state visit to China by a Saudi leader, expected to focus on boosting co-operation to fuel China's soaring energy needs.
...

Kong Quan, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, said on Thursday that the two sides were expected to discuss energy co-operation, anti-terrorism, politics, economics, culture, health and telecommunications.

He gave no information about possible energy deals to be signed.

Access to oil

However, China - the world's number two consumer of oil, has been seeking to expand sources of crude oil to fuel its booming economy.

It has tried to tempt potential partners with offers of diplomatic support and aid packages.

Abdullah's visit follows Beijing's first formal talks with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in late December.

China and Saudi Arabia have significantly expanded commercial ties in recent years after establishing diplomatic relations in 1990.

The main Saudi government oil company, a Chinese producer and Exxon Mobil Corp are partners in a $3.5 billion project to expand a refinery in southern China.

Total trade between the two countries - much of it Saudi oil bought by China - grew by 59% to $14 billion in the first 11 months of 2005.

Some observers believe that the Chinese need for new oil supplies could lead to a stand-off with the United States over access to Middle Eastern oil.

US sensitivities

However, Chinese analysts say China has neither the cash nor the will to challenge the United States - Saudi Arabia's chief diplomatic ally outside the Middle East.

Chen Fengying, of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told Reuters: "The United States and Saudi Arabia have a special relationship, and it doesn't matter how good relations with India or China become, it's not going to break that special connection."

Zhang Bin, of the Centre for Energy Strategy, says King Abdullah's decision to visit China on his first tour as king away from the Middle East may be designed to play down Saudi ties to Washington.

"At the moment, the United States has a lot of problems in the Islamic world. Its relationship is not very good, so they may have wanted to avoid going there first," he said

Top News Article | Reuters.com

Top News Article | Reuters.com: "WASHINGTON"

With Republicans burdened by the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in the weekly Democratic radio address that years of controlling both the White House and Congress had corrupted the Republican Party.

"There is a price to pay for this Republican abuse of power and it can be seen in the present state of our union," Reid said. "Special interests and the well-connected have been rewarded by Republicans while everyone else has been left behind."
...
Reid accused Republicans of using "doublespeak" to sell their agenda.

"When they wanted to let energy companies release more pollution into the air, they called it the 'Clear Skies Initiative,'" he said. "When they wanted to let loggers cut down more trees and weaken environmental laws, they called it the 'Healthy Forests Initiative.'

"My favorite Republican doublespeak is when they wanted to give tax breaks to their special interest friends even though it meant adding more than $50 billion to our deficit, they called their effort the 'Deficit Reduction Act,'" he said.

Cleveland.com: Search

Cleveland.com: Search: "ACLU to protest monitoring

The Cleveland office of the American Civil Liberties Union plans to hold a news conference Tuesday to draw attention to reported monitoring of two local anti-war groups, a local activist said Friday. The news conference follows an NBC revelation that the Defense Department gathered intelligence on a November 2004 meeting of the Northeast Ohio Anti-War Coalition (NOAC) in which the group discussed plans to send people to President Bush's inauguration in Washington, D.C. The NBC report also revealed the government monitored a peace march in Akron sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee in March 2005. Sarah Morton of NOAC said Friday that she was stunned and hopes other Americans will be, too. She said the ACLU plans to help her and other peace activists obtain any files the government is keeping on them."

Press Releases

Press Releases: "For example:

* Affirmative Action/Diversity - When asked about the Grutter decision, Judge Alito failed to affirm that he believes diversity is a compelling governmental interest. In addition, Judge Alito never mentioned during his testimony the importance of race-conscious measures in attempting to address this nation's shameful history of racial discrimination.

* Employment Discrimination - During his 15 years on the bench and participation in thousands of cases, Judge Alito has never written an employment discrimination opinion in favor of an African American on the merits of their race claim. Judge Alito attempted to downplay this point by referencing five cases where he was supposedly supportive of race-based claims. However, our research revealed that these five cases do not support the argument made by Judge Alito and his supporters.

* Concerned Alumni of Princeton -During the hearing, Judge Alito disassociated himself from the controversial alumni group that was against the admission of women and minorities to the university. Senators continue to perceive a credibility gap in response to Judge Alito's claim to not remember joining the group and his subsequent explanation that he joined in protest to Princeton's ROTC policy.

The Board Members of the Lawyers’ Committee fear that if Judge Alito is confirmed, his addition to the Supreme Court will come to be regarded as a turning point, diminishing our nation’s dedication to overcoming its tragic legacy of racial injustice. "

Press Releases

Press Releases: "The Lawyers’ Committee believes that Judge Alito’s troubling views from the 1980s and his current record as a judge are fully consistent and reflect a considerable skepticism about the importance of civil rights enforcement,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee.

For example:

* In Judge Alito’s recent responses to the Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire he has continued to use inflammatory “quota” labels to describe race-conscious measures.

* Judge Alito’s record embraces an interpretation of Title VII remedies that would preclude affirmative action, despite repeated Supreme Court holdings rejecting that interpretation.

* Judge Alito has advanced a cramped reading of Title VII that would make it very difficult for minority plaintiffs to prevail in employment discrimination cases.

* Judge Alito’s decisions demonstrate that he assigns to Congress only a narrow authority to remedy discrimination and reduce inequalities.


In light of the reasons noted in the Report, the Lawyers’ Committee urges the Judiciary Committee to vote not to confirm this nominee. "

Italy to Pull All of Its Troops From Iraq - New York Times

Italy to Pull All of Its Troops From Iraq - New York Times: "ROME (AP) -- Italy will withdraw all its troops from Iraq by the end of this year, the defense minister said Thursday in the first official timetable for Rome to end its mission."

InformationWeek | Privacyu | Yahoo, MSN, AOL Gave Search Data To Bush Administration Lawyers | January 19, 2006

InformationWeek | Privacyu | Yahoo, MSN, AOL Gave Search Data To Bush Administration Lawyers | January 19, 2006: "Jan 19, 2006 03:03 PM

Three of four major search engines subpoenaed by the Bush administration have acknowledged that they handed over search data in the government's efforts to revive an anti-porn law that was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Microsoft Corp., which owns MSN, Yahoo Inc. and America Online Inc. said they sent data to the government, but insisted no personal information on users was given to government attorneys. The exception among major search engines was Google Inc., which said it would 'vigorously' fight the government's requests.

The government had asked Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., for a broad amount of data, including a million random Web addresses and records of Google searches over any week, the Associated Press reported. The information came from U.S. Justice Department papers filed Wednesday in a San Jose, Calif., federal court."

Mike Malloy to CPAC: Get Lost!

Mike Malloy to CPAC: Get Lost!: "Friday, January 20, 2006; Page C03

For next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), media director Andrea Saul sent 500 invitations to radio talk shows inviting them to broadcast from the Omni Shoreham Hotel. This is one of the big lovefests for those who want to hear from Vice President Cheney, Sen. George Allen and Ann Coulter; its 'Radio Row' allows everyone easy access to the airwaves. Although most of the broadcasters on-site are darlings of the right, Saul also contacted several liberal hosts and producers -- last year Al Franken came and debated G. Gordon Liddy.

One of the invitations reached lefty Air America Radio's Mike Malloy, who hosts a nightly program carried by 70 stations across the country (though not in Washington) and on XM satellite radio. Malloy wrote:

'Um . . . you're kidding, right? Why would I have any desire whatsoever to attend or participate in a convocation of neo-Nazis????? I had two uncles fight against you [expletive] in WW2. And, now, surprise! surprise! here you all are on US soil. Kindly get the [expletive] off my email. Thanks.'"

Media Matters - Glenn Beck called hurricane survivors in New Orleans "scumbags," said he "hates" 9-11 families

Media Matters - Glenn Beck called hurricane survivors in New Orleans "scumbags," said he "hates" 9-11 families: "Glenn Beck called hurricane survivors in New Orleans 'scumbags,' said he 'hates' 9-11 families

Nationally syndicated Clear Channel radio host Glenn Beck referred to survivors of Hurricane Katrina who remained in New Orleans as 'scumbags.' Also, after acknowledging that nobody 'in their right mind is going to say this out loud,' Beck attacked victims of the disaster in general and the families of victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying: 'I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9-11 victims.'

From the September 9 broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program:

BECK: Let me be real honest with you. I don't think anybody on talk radio -- I don't think anybody in their right mind is going to say this out loud -- but I wonder if I'm the only one that feels this way. Yesterday, when I saw the ATM cards being handed out, the $2,000 ATM cards, and they were being handed out at the Astrodome. And they actually had to close the Astrodome and seal it off for a while because there was a near-riot trying to get to these ATM cards. My first thought was, it's not like they're going to run out of the $2,000 ATM cards. You can wait! You know, stand in line. Maybe it's because I'm the kind of guy, when I go to a buffet, I either have to be first in line, or I'm the very last. Because I know there's going to be extra food, and I just won't stand in the line. I'll wait until all the suckers go get their food, and then I'll go get mine. Or if I'm really hungry, I hate to admit this -- and really, I don't even have to be really hungry. If I'm really being a pig, I will kind of, like, hang out around the buffet table before the line is -- you know, chat with people right around the table: 'Oh, they just opened the line! Let's go!' And then you're first in line.

When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came"

Rove Lays Out Road Map for Republicans in Fall Elections - New York Times

Rove Lays Out Road Map for Republicans in Fall Elections - New York Times: "Published: January 21, 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 - Karl Rove, the president's chief political adviser, gave nervous Republicans here a preview on Friday of the party's strategy to maintain its dominance in the fall elections, offering a searing attack on Democrats for their positions on terrorism, the administration's eavesdropping program and President Bush's effort to shape the federal judiciary.

Mr. Rove called for civility in politics in his speech to the Republican National Committee, and then for 26 minutes offered a lacerating attack on Democrats that other Republicans said was a road map for how the party would deal with a tough electoral environment as it battled to retain control of both houses of Congress."

Frist calls Alito Democrats' "nightmare" - Yahoo! News

Frist calls Alito Democrats' "nightmare" - Yahoo! News: "By Richard Cowan 2 hours, 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told Republican Party activists on Friday night that
U.S. Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito was the 'worst nightmare of liberal Democrats.'

Frist, a Tennessee Republican, made the remark to fellow Republicans during a private tour he gave them of the Senate chamber when the Senate was not in session.

Frist was not available for comment following his remarks.

Asked about the senator's remark, Frist spokesman Bob Stevenson said that Alito 'is a thoughtful mainstream conservative jurist who is well respected by his peers, by Democrats and Republicans alike.'

Stevenson added, 'There are liberals, many of them represented by the outside groups, who will do anything to kill any nominee put forward by this administration.'"

CNN's "Cordial" Hire

CNN's "Cordial" Hire: "CNN's 'Cordial' Hire
Headline News picks would-be killer Glenn Beck as host

1/18/06

CNN’s Headline News has hired radio talkshow host Glenn Beck to host a one-hour primetime show, according to a Daily Variety report (1/17/06). Variety quotes CNN Headline News president Ken Jautz's description of Beck: 'Glenn’s style is self-deprecating, cordial; he says he'd like to be able to disagree with guests and part as friends. It's conversational, not confrontational.'

But Glenn Beck’s hateful rhetoric tells a different story.

Beck, best known for setting up Clear Channel's pro-war Rallies for America shortly before the Iraq War, once described how much he loathed anti-war presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (WABC-AM, 3/16/03): 'Every night I get down on my knees and pray that Dennis Kucinich will burst into flames.'

In 2004, Beck called Michael Berg, whose son had been beheaded in Iraq, 'despicable' and a 'scumbag' because the elder Berg criticized George W. Bush in the wake of his son’s death (Mediamatters.org, 5/17/04).

On May 17, 2005, Beck fantasized about murdering anti-war filmmaker Michael Moore (Mediamatters.org, 5/18/05):

I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out--is this wrong?


Beck also accused Moore of 'taking help and money from Hezbollah.'

He wasn’t much more charitable to victims of Hurricane Katrina, some of whom he called 'scumbags.' On September 9, Beck said that Katrina victims caused a 'near riot' when ATM cards were distributed to the displaced (Mediamatters.org, 9/9/05):

When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came to mind was--and this is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this--you know it took me about a year to start hating the "

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com: "By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The White House is launching an aggressive effort to defend a domestic eavesdropping program prior to congressional hearings that are to delve into whether President George W. Bush overstepped his authority."

The Raw Story | Justice Department to declare warrantless wiretaps legal

The Raw Story | Justice Department to declare warrantless wiretaps legal: "January 19, 2006

Print This | Email This

In a detailed 42-page legal memorandum set for release this evening the Bush Justice Department will defend the President's warrantless wiretap program as legal. A copy of the document was leaked to RAW STORY.

'The NSA activities are supported by the President’s well-recognized inherent constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and sole organ for the Nation in foreign affairs to conduct warrantless surveillance of enemy forces for intelligence purposes to detect and disrupt armed attacks on the United States,' Justice Department lawyers write, referring to the President's order to wiretap Americans' calls overseas.

It adds, 'The President has the chief responsibility under the Constitution to protect America from attack, and the Constitution gives the President the authority necessary to fulfill that solemn responsibility.'
Advertisement

The first two pages are shown below, with a pdf link to the full document beneath that. Democrats plan unofficial hearings on the legality of the wiretaps Friday (Article here). No formal congressional hearing has been scheduled by the Republican congressional leadership to examine the taps, despite widespread concern among civil liberty advocates and constitutional scholars."

MercuryNews.com | 01/19/2006 | Feds after Google data

MercuryNews.com | 01/19/2006 | Feds after Google data:

"In court papers filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Justice Department lawyers revealed that Google has refused to comply with a subpoena issued last year for the records, which include a request for 1 million random Web addresses and records of all Google searches from any one-week period.

The Mountain View-based search and advertising giant opposes releasing the information on a variety of grounds, saying it would violate the privacy rights of its users and reveal company trade secrets, according to court documents.

Nicole Wong, an associate general counsel for Google, said the company will fight the government's effort ``vigorously.''

``Google is not a party to this lawsuit, and the demand for the information is overreaching,'' Wong said.

The case worries privacy advocates, given the vast amount of information Google and other search engines know about their users.

``This is exactly the kind of case that privacy advocates have long feared,'' said Ray Everett-Church, a South Bay privacy consultant. ``The idea that these massive databases are being thrown open to anyone with a court document is the worst-case scenario. If they lose this fight, consumers will think twice about letting Google deep into their lives.''

Everett-Church, who has consulted with Internet companies facing subpoenas, said Google could argue that releasing the information causes undue harm to its users' privacy.

``The government can't even claim that it's for national security,'' Everett-Church said. ``They're just using it to get the search engines to do their research for them in a way that compromises the civil liberties of other people.''"

Visit to Chinese Anytown Shows a Dark Side of Progress - New York Times

Visit to Chinese Anytown Shows a Dark Side of Progress - New York Times:

"In a series of interviews on Tuesday, people here made it clear that there was a broad awareness of the events in Dongzhou and of the discontent simmering in much of rural China. But they are fatalistic about their power to win redress for their grievances against the government.

'We live in this society and we just have to accept this reality,' said a villager named Shen, who like several others who agreed to speak, gave only his family name, for fear of retribution from the authorities. 'We have no land left. Our land has already been taken away with a compensation of only 700 yuan per person every year.' That amount is the equivalent of about $90.

The strands that come together in Panlong are so typical of rural protests as to be very nearly generic.

There are small people dispossessed of their land to make way for industries or development projects.

There are fruitless efforts to seek help, from city hall to the provincial administration and all the way to the capital. There is environmental destruction on a huge scale and the loss of long-held livelihoods.

When a spark ignites the people's discontent, there are police state tactics to suppress the protests and enforce a silence over the details. Ultimately there are brass knuckles, jail and, lately, death for those who refuse to take the hint and desist."

January 18, 2006

January 18, 2006: "eport by Sibel D. Edmonds, Former Language Specialist; FBI:

Melek Can Dickerson, a Turkish Translator, was hired by the FBI after September 11, and was placed in charge of translating the most sensitive information related to terrorists and criminals under the Bureau’s investigation. She was granted Top Secret Clearance, which is supposed to be granted only after conducting a thorough background investigation. However, according to FBI officials, she had previously worked for semi-legit organizations that were FBI’s targets of investigation, and had on going relationships with two individuals who were FBI’s targets of investigation. For months she blocked all-important information related to these semi-legit organizations and the individuals she and her husband associated with. She stamped hundreds, if not thousands, of documents related to these targets as ‘Not Pertinent’, and attempted to prevent others from translating these documents - important to the FBI’s investigations and our fight against terrorism. Further, she and her husband attempted to recruit others, including myself, to work for the FBI target under investigation.

Dickerson, with the assistance of her direct supervisor, Mike Feghali, took hundreds of pages of top-secret sensitive intelligence documents outside the FBI to unknown recipients. She, with the assistance of her direct supervisor, forged signatures on top-secret documents related to certain 9/11 detainees. Even after these incidents were confirmed and reported to FBI management, she was allowed to remain in her position, to continue the translation of sensitive intelligence received by the FBI, and to maintain her Top Secret Clearance. Apparently, bureaucratic mid-level FBI management and administrators decided that it would not look good for the Bureau if this security breach and espionage case was investigated and made public, especially after Robert Hanssen’s case (FBI spy scandal). The Dickerson case was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee (Please refer to Senator Leahy and Grassley’s letters dated June 19 and August 13, 2002, and Senator Grassley’s statement on CBS-60 Minutes in October 2002), and received major coverage by the press. According to Director Mueller, the Inspector General criticized the FBI for failing to adequately pursue this espionage report regarding Dickerson (Please refer to DOJ-IG report Re: Sibel Edmonds and FBI Translation).

Today, almost four years since the Dickerson incident was reported to the FBI, and more than three years since this information was confirmed by the United States Congress and reported by the press, the administrators in charge of FBI personnel security and language departments in the FBI remain in their positions and in charge of translation quality and translation departments’ security. Dickerson and several FBI targets of investigation hastily left the United States in 2002, and the case still remains uninvestigated criminally. This case was not referred to the FBI Counterespionage division, as it is required by the FBI’s own protocol. It needs to be investigated and criminally prosecuted - it is a clear case of espionage. The translation of our intelligence is being entrusted to individuals with loyalties to our enemies; important ‘chit-chats’ and ‘chatters’ are being intentionally blocked. "

Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room

Loophole in Lobbying Bill Leaves Wiggle Room: "Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 18, 2006; Page A04

Lawmakers are about to bombard the American public with proposals that would crack down on lobbyists. Several prominent plans, including one outlined yesterday by House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), would specifically ban meals and privately paid travel for lawmakers.

Or would they?

According to lobbyists and ethics experts, even if Hastert's proposal is enacted, members of Congress and their staffs could still travel the world on an interest group's expense and eat steak on a lobbyist's account at the priciest restaurants in Washington.
...

Anything that members of Congress can now do in the pursuit of money for their reelections will still be permitted in the future -- including accepting lobbyist-paid travel and in-town meals -- unless campaign finance laws are altered.
...

The result, he added, "may well be more out-of-town fundraising events than there are at the moment.""

S.E.C. to Require More Disclosure on Executive Pay - New York Times

S.E.C. to Require More Disclosure on Executive Pay - New York Times:

"The pay of the average worker remained almost flat at $27,000 from 1990 to 2004, adjusted for inflation, while average chief executive pay has risen from $2.82 million to $11.8 million, a ratio of more than 400 to 1, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and a group, United for a Fair Economy, which has been critical of the disparity between the pay of senior executives and lower-ranking employees.

The proposed rules would for the first time require public companies to provide a figure for total compensation, including significant perks, stock options and retirement benefits for the chief executive, the chief financial officer and three other top-paid officers, as well as all directors.
...

But they acknowledged that the changes, while they may encourage reining in some perks, would not lead to a decline in the rapidly growing pay packages of top executives at many public companies.

But they acknowledged that the ch"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Statement by Former Vice President Al Gore"

U.S. Newswire : Releases : "Statement by Former Vice President Al Gore": "Jan. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement by former Vice President Al Gore:

'The Administration's response to my speech illustrates perfectly the need for a special counsel to review the legality of the NSA wiretapping program. The Attorney General is making a political defense of the President without even addressing the substantive legal questions that have so troubled millions of Americans in both political parties.

'There are two problems with the Attorney General's effort to focus attention on the past instead of the present Administration's behavior. First, as others have thoroughly documented, his charges are factually wrong. Both before and after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was amended in 1995, the Clinton/Gore Administration complied fully and completely with the terms of the law.

'Second, the Attorney General's attempt to cite a previous administration's activity as precedent for theirs -- even though factually wrong -- ironically demonstrates another reason why we must be so vigilant about their brazen disregard for the law. If unchecked, their behavior would serve as a precedent to encourage future presidents to claim these same powers, which many legal experts in both parties believe are clearly illegal.

'The issue, simply put, is that for more than four years, the executive branch has been wiretapping many thousands of American citizens without warrants in direct contradiction of American law. It is clearly wrong and disrespectful to the American people to allow a close political associate of the president to be in charge of reviewing serious charges against him.

'The country needs a full and independent investigation into the facts and legality of the present Administration's program.'"

Gore calls for special counsel on eavesdropping - Yahoo! News

Gore calls for special counsel on eavesdropping - Yahoo! News: "1 hour, 32 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Vice President
Al Gore called on Monday for an independent counsel to investigate whether
President George W. Bush broke the law in authorizing domestic eavesdropping without court approval.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales plans to testify in Senate hearings, expected next month, to give the administration's legal justification for the secret domestic eavesdropping operation.

'A special counsel should be immediately appointed by the attorney general to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the president,' Gore said in a speech to the American Constitution Society and the Liberty Coalition.

Gore, the Democrat defeated by Bush in the 2000 presidential election, said the eavesdropping operation threatened the foundation of U.S. democracy, and he recalled the
FBI's secret surveillance of Martin Luther King, on the U.S. holiday commemorating the civil rights leader."

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006":

"The Supreme Court of the United States has stated that the President's authority to classify and control access to information bearing on the national security flows from the Constitution and does not depend upon a legislative grant of authority. Although the advance notice contemplated by sections 8007, 8011, and 8093 can be provided in most situations as a matter of comity, situations may arise, especially in wartime, in which the President must act promptly under his constitutional grants of executive power and authority as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces while protecting certain extraordinarily sensitive national security information. The executive branch shall construe these sections in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President."

GG - Here he is claiming that you have no right to privacy.

MercuryNews.com | 01/08/2006 | Bush quietly undercuts laws with bill-signing statement

MercuryNews.com | 01/08/2006 | Bush quietly undercuts laws with bill-signing statement: "Knight Ridder

WASHINGTON - President Bush agreed with great fanfare last month to accept a ban on torture, but he later quietly reserved the right to ignore it, even as he signed it into law.

Acting from the seclusion of his Texas ranch at the start of New Year's weekend, Bush said he would interpret the new law in keeping with his expansive view of presidential power. He did it by issuing a bill-signing statement -- a little-noticed device that has become a favorite tool of presidential power in the Bush White House.

In fact, Bush has used signing statements to reject, revise or put his spin on more than 500 legislative provisions. Experts say he has been far more aggressive than any previous president in using the statements to claim sweeping executive power -- and not just on national security issues.

``It's nothing short of breathtaking,'' said Phillip Cooper, a professor of public administration at Portland State University. ``In every case, the White House has interpreted presidential authority as broadly as possible, interpreted legislative authority as narrowly as possible and pre-empted the judiciary.''"

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of

President's Statement on Signing of H.R. 2863, the "Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and Pandemic Influenza Act, 2006":

"The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks. Further, in light of the principles enunciated by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2001 in Alexander v. Sandoval, and noting that the text and structure of Title X do not create a private right of action to enforce Title X, the executive branch shall construe Title X not to create a private right of action. Finally, given the decision of the Congress reflected in subsections 1005(e) and 1005(h) that the amendments made to section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, shall apply to past, present, and future actions, including applications for writs of habeas corpus, described in that section, and noting that section 1005 does not confer any constitutional right upon an alien detained abroad as an enemy combatant, the executive branch shall construe section 1005 to preclude the Federal courts from exercising subject matter jurisdiction over any existing or future action, including applications for writs of habeas corpus, described in section 1005..."

GG - And much more! In other words - he is claiming the right to torture, and do whatever he sees fit.

Massive protests over Zawahiri attack

Massive protests over Zawahiri attack: "Monday, January 16, 2006 at 0036 hours IST

ISLAMABAD, JANUARY 15 : Islamic groups across Pakistan staged massive protests on Sunday condemning President Pervez Musharraf and the US for the deadly air strikes in a remote border village that were intended to target Al-Qaeda No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Thousands of people chanting anti-US slogans took part in rallies in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar. The country’s main Islamist alliance, Muttahida Majlis Amal, took out protest rallies in the port city of Karachi condemning the missile attack.

Significantly, pro-Musharraf party and ally, the MQM, also took part in the rally. The marches were held in the backdrop of Musharraf’s appeal to his countrymen not to harbour foreign militants. “If we kept sheltering foreign terrorists here, our future will not be good,” Musharraf said in an address broadcast by state-run PTV."

Al Gore to Warn of President's Threat to Constitution - Yahoo! News

Al Gore to Warn of President's Threat to Constitution - Yahoo! News: "-- Major Address: Monday, Jan. 16 at 12 p.m.

--
Al Gore to Warn of Threat to Constitution From President's Actions

-- Wake-Up Call for Legislative, Judicial Branches: Wiretap Policy Only Latest Extension of Unchecked Executive Power

-- Introduction by Former Rep. Bob Barr highlights breadth of ideological concern over abuse of executive power

WHAT: Major address by Al Gore

WHEN: Monday, Jan. 16 at 12 p.m. (doors open at 10:30 a.m.)

WHERE: DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Former Vice President Al Gore will deliver a major address Monday on the threat posed by policies of the Bush Administration to the Constitution and the checks and balances it created. The speech will specifically point to domestic wiretapping and torture as examples of the administration's efforts to extend executive power beyond Congressional direction and judicial review.

The Vice President will make the case that the country -- including the legislative and judicial branches and all Americans -- must act now to defend the systems put into place by the country's founders to curb executive power or risk permanent and irreversible damage to the Constitution.

The extent of bipartisan concern over these issues is highlighted by former Republican Rep. Bob Barr's introduction of the Vice President next Wednesday, and by the organizations cosponsoring the speech."

H.E.R.B. - Had Enough Religious Bullshit !

H.E.R.B. - Had Enough Religious Bullshit !:

"I hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country,
we won't have any public schools. The churches will have taken them over again
and Christians will be running them. What a happy day that will be!
-- Rev. Jerry Falwell


Secular schools can never be tolerated because such a school has no
religious instruction and a general moral instruction without a religious foundation
is built on air; consequently, all character training and religion must be derived
from faith.... We need believing people.
-- Adolf Hitler, April 26, 1933"

Mail-only vote in primary possible - Sonoma, Mendocino, other counties join Alameda's request to Legislature

Mail-only vote in primary possible - Sonoma, Mendocino, other counties join Alameda's request to Legislature: "Sonoma, Mendocino, other counties join Alameda's request to Legislature

By BLEYS W. ROSE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The June primary in Sonoma, Mendocino and other counties could be conducted entirely by mail - with no polling places open - if the Legislature approves a plan gathering steam across the state.

The idea for emergency legislation allowing counties to conduct absentee-only balloting stems from Alameda County, where officials are concerned their new electronic voting machines aren't working well enough to use in June.

Because of those concerns, Alameda has asked the Legislature for special permission to substitute mail-only balloting for the traditional system of polling places."

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Zawahiri 'not hit by US missile'

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Zawahiri 'not hit by US missile': "The deputy leader of al-Qaeda was not in a Pakistani village near the Afghan border which was hit in an apparent missile attack, Pakistan officials say.

The unnamed officials said the attack - in which at least 18 people were killed - was based on 'false information'.

Quoting intelligence sources, US media said it was a CIA raid. The US military says it is not aware of any operations taking place in the Bajaur tribal area."

Saddam trial judge plans to quit - Yahoo! News

Saddam trial judge plans to quit - Yahoo! News:

"The chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein plans to step down, a source close to the judge told Reuters on Friday, in a development that could throw an already turbulent process into further disarray.

'He wants to withdraw,' the source said of Rizgar Amin, who is to preside over the next hearing on January 24. 'He will oversee the next sitting and then announce his reasons for withdrawing.'

Asked why the Kurdish judge, based in the northern city of Sulaimaniya, wanted to pull out of a trial that has made his face familiar around the world during long days of television coverage, he would say only: 'It is too difficult.'"

InformationWeek | Customer Data | IRS Plan To Outsource Tax Collection Raises Security Concerns | January 13, 2006

InformationWeek | Customer Data | IRS Plan To Outsource Tax Collection Raises Security Concerns | January 13, 2006: "Jan 13, 2006 11:00 AM

The Internal Revenue Service by March expects to award contracts to three private-sector companies to help the agency improve its ability to track down deadbeat taxpayers. Yet despite carefully worded security stipulations written into the IRS's request for quotes from prospective contractors, concerns remain regarding the government and the business world's ability to adequately protect sensitive information.

President Bush gave the IRS the power to use private-sector contractors when he signed the American Jobs Creation Act in October 2004. The act created Section 6206 of the Internal Revenue Code permitting contractors to be used to help collect taxes in cases where the tax owed is not in dispute. The IRS, which started looking for contractors last October, says using them for debt collection will help increase the amount of tax liabilities collected each year, leading to an estimated additional $1.4 billion dollars in tax revenue over the next 10 years."

The Raw Story | Gore to deliver scathing speech Monday on 'constitutional crisis' in Washington

The Raw Story | Gore to deliver scathing speech Monday on 'constitutional crisis' in Washington: "January 12, 2006

Print This | Email This

Former Vice President Al Gore will deliver a scathing speech Monday at Constitution Hall in Washington -- just blocks from the White House -- at which he will declare America is faced with a constitutional crisis, RAW STORY has learned.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech is set to take place at noon at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall. Gore will be introduced by onetime Georgia Republican congressman Bob Barr.

A source close to the erstwhile vice president related details of Gore's expected speech to RAW STORY Thursday. The source noted that Gore prepares the final editions of his speeches just before he delivers them, but that the tenor of the speech would focus on what the Tennessee Democrat has described as a President acting above the law.
Advertisement

The aide related how Gore was framing his address.

“We are at a point of constitutional crisis,' the aide said, relating how Gore has articulated his speech. 'The president who has violated the law is acting above the law. It’s a wakeup call for Congress, the American people and the courts. If we continue down this road we will have a different constitution.

'Nixon’s quote about if the president does it it is legal, it’s kind of like Bush saying, if it’s about national security, it’s legal. This is going to be called transpartisan; it’s not about who your party is, it’s about what America stands for.'

Gore, the source said, will talk about the framers of the constitution.

'You can’t defend freedom while abandoning it at home,' the source said, speaking of Gore's planned remarks. 'The founders thought about this. They didn’t want a king, that’s why they didn’t set up a system to anoint a king. We have checks and balances in this country and we cannot abandon them.'"

Former 'Nightline' Reporter Joins English-Language Al Jazeera - Los Angeles Times

Former 'Nightline' Reporter Joins English-Language Al Jazeera - Los Angeles Times: "Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The Arab news network Al Jazeera announced Thursday that Dave Marash, an award-winning former correspondent for ABC News' 'Nightline,' is joining its 24-hour English-language network, to be launched this spring.

In an interview Thursday, Marash, 63, described his new position as 'the most interesting job on Earth.'

ADVERTISEMENT
Calling Al Jazeera 'a thoroughly respectable news organization,' Marash, who will co-anchor the news from the network's Washington studio, said the new show aimed to 'win the high end. We want to give the most sophisticated, most nuanced and most global view of the day's events.'

Al Jazeera, which is based in — and financed by — the Persian Gulf nation Qatar, has been denounced by Bush administration officials for what the State Department characterized as its 'inflammatory' reports. On a number of occasions, it has been the first to broadcast communications from leaders of Al Qaeda. Other Arab nations, notably Saudi Arabia, have complained about the independence of its reporting."

Calif. solar energy plan approved | CNET News.com

Calif. solar energy plan approved | CNET News.com:

"A $3.2 billion solar energy plan was approved in California on Thursday to create one of the country's largest such programs.

Under the 10-year plan, called the 'California Solar Initiative,' the life of current state subsidizes will be extended to provide 1 million residents and businesses with rooftop solar panels, or 3,000 megawatts of solar energy, across the state.

Supporters of the plan believe that it will save state residents as much as $2.9 billion in energy costs over the next 10 years, factoring in a traditional rise in electricity prices over that time. It will also mitigate the effects of global warming and create jobs for state residents, supporters say.

'Electricity generation is the single largest cause of global warming,' said Adam Browning, director of operations of the Vote Solar Initiative. 'It's critical that we take action to jumpstart the transition to clean, renewable energy.'"

Top News Article | Reuters.com

Top News Article | Reuters.com: "By Darren Ennis

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament launched an investigation on Thursday into allegations that the CIA used EU countries for the illegal transport and detention of prisoners.

At a meeting in Brussels, leaders of the Parliament's seven political groups and assembly president Josep Borrell voted in favor of setting up a temporary committee consisting of 46 members to investigate the allegations.

The inquiry will have no legal powers, but the committee will recommend what political action should be taken against any countries found guilty of involvement, including the U.S."

Judge: Fetuses Don't Count in HOV Lanes

Judge: Fetuses Don't Count in HOV Lanes: "16:01 PST PHOENIX, (AP) --

Fetuses do not count as passengers when it comes to determining who may drive in the carpool lane, a judge ruled.

Candace Dickinson was fined $367 for improper use of a carpool lane, but contended the fetus inside her womb allowed her to use the lane. Motorists who use the lanes normally must carry at least one passenger during weekday rush hours."

Alito's Wife Leaves Hearing Room in Tears - Yahoo! News

Alito's Wife Leaves Hearing Room in Tears - Yahoo! News: "The wife of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito left his confirmation hearings in tears Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Martha-Ann Bomgardner, who had sat behind her husband for hours of questioning over several days, left as her husband was being questioned by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record) of South Carolina.

'Judge Alito, I am sorry that you've had to go through this. I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this,' said Graham.

Moments earlier, the senator had asked Alito, 'Are you really a closet bigot?' The nominee said no, and Graham said, 'No sir, you're not.'

Graham's exchange with the nominee came after withering questions from several Judiciary Committee Democrats."

GG - NOTE IN THIS EXCHANGE THAT IT WAS THE REPUBLICAN SENATOR ASKING THE VERY STAGED QUESTION 'ARE YOU REALLY A CLOSET BIGOT'.

USATODAY.com - Algae like a breath mint for smokestacks

USATODAY.com - Algae like a breath mint for smokestacks:

"Enter Dr. Berzin, a rocket scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. About three years ago, while working on an experiment for growing algae on the International Space Station, he came up with the idea for using it to clean up power-plant exhaust.
....

And one that's taken him to the top — a rooftop. Bolted onto the exhaust stacks of a brick-and-glass 20-megawatt power plant behind MIT's campus are rows of fat, clear tubes, each with green algae soup simmering inside.

Fed a generous helping of CO2-laden emissions, courtesy of the power plant's exhaust stack, the algae grow quickly even in the wan rays of a New England sun. The cleansed exhaust bubbles skyward, but with 40% less CO2 (a larger cut than the Kyoto treaty mandates) and another bonus: 86% less nitrous oxide.

After the CO2 is soaked up like a sponge, the algae is harvested daily. From that harvest, a combustible vegetable oil is squeezed out: biodiesel for automobiles. Berzin hands a visitor two vials — one with algal biodiesel, a clear, slightly yellowish liquid, the other with the dried green flakes that remained. Even that dried remnant can be further reprocessed to create ethanol, also used for transportation.

Being a good Samaritan on air quality usually costs a bundle. But Berzin's pitch is one hard-nosed utility executives and climate-change skeptics might like: It can make a tidy profit."

KRISTV.COM - Corpus Christi, TX - Two stations decline to air ads critical of DeLay

KRISTV.COM - Corpus Christi, TX - Two stations decline to air ads critical of DeLay:

"HOUSTON -- At least two Houston television stations have decided not to air ads targeting embattled U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay.

The ads are paid for by Campaign for America's Future and Public Campaign Action Fund. They address alleged links between DeLay and Republican House colleague Bob Ney of Ohio and a widespread congressional corruption probe of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff."

Ynetnews - News - Israel shuns Pat Robertson

Ynetnews - News - Israel shuns Pat Robertson:

"Israel won't do business with Pat Robertson after the U.S. Christian Evangelist said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke was divine punishment for Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an official said Wednesday, placing a USD 50 million deal with the Christian leader in doubt."

General Asserts Right On Self-Incrimination In Iraq Abuse Cases

General Asserts Right On Self-Incrimination In Iraq Abuse Cases: "Thursday, January 12, 2006; Page A01

Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, a central figure in the U.S. detainee-abuse scandal, this week invoked his right not to incriminate himself in court-martial proceedings against two soldiers accused of using dogs to intimidate captives at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, according to lawyers involved in the case.

The move by Miller -- who once supervised the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and helped set up operations at Abu Ghraib -- is the first time the general has given an indication that he might have information that could implicate him in wrongdoing, according to military lawyers.


Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller headed prison facilities in Cuba and helped set up Abu Ghraib in Iraq.
Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller headed prison facilities in Cuba and helped set up Abu Ghraib in Iraq. (By John Moore -- Associated Press)
News From Iraq

* General Asserts Right On Self-Incrimination In Iraq Abuse Cases
* Key Shiite Backs Away From Charter Accord
* Army's Iraq Work Assailed by Briton
* Turmoil in Iraq Is Part of Progress, Bush Says
* Slanted Press or Slanted Blogs?
More News

U.S. Fatalities

Portraits of U.S. service members who have died since 2001.

• War in Iraq | Map: 2,000 Deaths
• Operation Enduring Freedom
Iraq in Transition

Photos, graphics, live discussions and the latest headlines on Iraq's parliamentary elections and new constitutional government.

* Full Report: Iraq Elections

Who's Blogging?
Read what bloggers are saying about this article.

* Copeland Institute for Lower Learning
* THE WAR IN CONTEXT:: Iraq, the War on Terrorism, and the Middle East Conflict - in Critical Perspective
* Trampled flat


Full List of Blogs (25 links) »

Most Blogged About Articles
On washingtonpost.com | On the web

Harvey Vol"